The Sixers bring back Rodney Carney

With the Phillies in the thick of a pennant run and the Eagles about set to kickoff, I wouldn't blame you if you forgot we have a professional basketball team here in Philadelphia. To be fair, the Sixers have done little in the last few months to catch our attention and get us excited about the NBA season that begins in less than two months. In fact, pretty much all the Sixers have done in the last 4 months is stock up on bench players. After picking up Primoz Brezec and Royal Ivey this offseason, the Sixers have grabbed yet another bench player that we are at least all familiar with.

Rodney Carney, who started his career with the Sixers, has come back to Philadelphia, signing a contract to play with the Sixers this season. Carney, who spent two years in Philly before being traded to Minnesota to make room for Elton Brand, is only 25 years old and actually still has some upside. He has averaged 6.5 points while playing 16.7 minutes per game in his career. Carney can't shoot from outside but rather is another slashing small forward/shooting guard type much in the mold of Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young. While he is a redundant player, I'm more confident with a guy like Carney coming off the bench than a Willie Green or Royal Ivey.

With the signing of Carney, the Sixers now have 13 players under contract for next season. That means that one of the following roster players will have to be stashed on the injured list or let go:

Guards:
Jrue Holiday
Andre Iguodala
Willie Green
Lou Williams
Royal Ivey

Forwards:
Elton Brand
Thaddeus Young
Jason Kapono
Marreese Speights
Jason Smith
Rodney Carney

Centers:
Samuel Dalembert
Primoz Brezec

Sixers deal Carney, Booth to clear salary for Brand or Smith

According to Yahoo Sports, the Sixers have made an interesting trade that helps clear cap space to sign a big-time free agent. The trade can't be announced until tomorrow, but the Sixers have agreed to trade Rodney Carney, Calvin Booth and a future 1st round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for a 2.8 million dollar trade exception.

While this trade looks extremely lopsided on paper, and giving up a first round pick is never a good thing, the Sixers have now positioned themselves to make a serious run at one of the two big free agents out there, Elton Brand or Josh Smith. The trade clears up an extra two million dollars that can then be built into a salary offer for either player.

It has been speculated that Brand was going to go back to Los Angeles to team up with the newest Clipper, Baron Davis, but as more time passes, the Sixers have gotten increasingly aggressive in going after Brand. ESPN's Marc Stein reports that the Sixers are a "serious threat" to lure Brand out of Los Angeles. The Sixers initially didn't think they could compete financially but with the trade they are right in the mix.

Elton Brand is probably Plan A, making Josh Smith, who visited the Sixers last week, Plan B. Smith, a restricted free agent, is in a different situation from Brand, who is an unrestricted free agent. Any offer the Sixers make to Smith can be matched by the Atlanta Hawks, so it makes sense that the Sixers would first pursue the player they have more control over signing.

Losing Rodney Carney, and to a lesser extent Calvin Booth, won't hurt the Sixers too much, but it does affect their depth. Carney showed flashes of potential but struggled to find his place on the Sixers. With the immediate impact that Thaddeus Young made on the team, Carney became expendable. Booth was a bit player who could block shots but made little impact when he was on the floor.

The Sixers have now lined themselves up to sign a big-time free agent that can have a huge impact on the team. Let's hope the extra money is enough incentive to lure Brand or Smith to play for this up-and-coming Sixers team.

Rodney Carney's Dunk over D-Wade

This one deserves its own post. Here is the dunk from last nights game where Rodney Carney posterizes Dwayne Wade.



One of the best dunks I have seen in a while.
Wade had his revenge later in the game, although he got called for taunting: